Self Development as a Manager and Leader

Objectives

Participants will learn and practise a set of personal management habits, essential for workplace performance, and common to highly successful people. Skilful adoption of these practices will help participants develop rapidly as managers and leaders:

Taking control and personal responsibility for actions and results

Finding the sweet spot for participants’ talents, where enthusiasm and distinctive strengths can be used in work opportunities

Setting objectives for every activity

Setting a personal long term vision, a set of medium and short term goals, and development priorities

Time management: creating blocks of attention for important work, triaging urgent tasks

Identifying and addressing destructive work habits, and deliberately bedding in good habits

Course Content

1. Taking Control

Adopting a proactive approach to personal career direction and performance: facing current reality; taking responsibility for actions and results; making & keeping commitments; prioritising solutions and contributions over criticism; focusing only on controllables

Exploring enthusiasm for different aspects of current and prospective roles, highlighting roles of greatest motivation

Understanding personal strengths and weaknesses, and which strengths are distinctively valuable

Finding and developing the sweet spot for personal talent: where distinctive strengths and areas of enthusiasm match with work opportunities

2. Setting a Vision and Making it Happen

Creating an inspiring long term vision to motivate performance and provide personal satisfaction

Setting personal goals for the short and medium term

Understanding the importance of goals for learning and skills development, to complement performance and outcomes

3. Adopting Excellent Working Habits

Overcoming the tyranny of the urgent: managing time and attention to ensure the most important tasks are done well; building in time for recovery and investment in capability

Setting objectives for every activity

Removing distractions, and creating blocks of focused attention for essential work

Identifying & addressing bad work habits; bedding in good habits

Practising how to practise: developing and mastering skills

Systematising low value work

Creating a more effective physical work environment: supportive systems, correct resources, and freedom from distraction

Developing an informal team of peers and advisers for active discussion, support, and challenge

4. Working Well with Others

Playing to each others’ strengths: understanding and using each others’ different complementary skills and aptitudes

Better listening: Always Already Listening and Seeking First to Understand

Using tangible language when agreeing improvement and action

Upward management: critical steps to clarify vague delegation, and how to manage expectations

5. Personal Development Priorities

Self diagnosis in all areas reviewed in the course

Development plan, with priority areas for action or practice

Method

The course is very interactive. We introduce a small number of concepts and skills, but spend most of the time practising applying the skills in a variety of common situations.

Participants also spend considerable time uncovering and reflecting on gaps and weaknesses in their own work habits. They prioritise where they can improve, and put together plans to address their priorities.

Participants leave the course with a skill set that they can apply immediately, to help themselves perform better and develop rapidly.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone interested in improving their own workplace performance will benefit. The course is a good refresher and prompt for better practices, and so also suits people already well-versed in productivity and other personal management skills.

Format & Duration

The course is conducted as classroom training.

The classroom course lasts 1 day, and works well with between 4 and 20 participants.